Many forms of exercise equipment involve pull handles connected to cables, weights and other forms of resistance. The user typically grasps the pull handle to lift the weight, pull the cable or effect some other type of movement against the resistance. A problem with existing pull handles is that they have a fixed point of attachment to a source of resistance and therefore offer a limited range of mobility and do not account for the rotation of the user's hand, wrist and/or arm (or foot, ankle and/or leg) as the user extends through the range of motion associated with the particular exercise. This may create unnatural stress on the user's joints, ligaments and/or tendons that may result in injury. It also limits the type of exercises that can be performed using the handle. Another problem with existing pull handles is that their forms lead to discomfort when performing certain exercises and preclude the performance of other exercises altogether, especially functional exercises that focus on the human body's natural movements.
These issues exist with single pull handles that may be held in either of the user's hands, as well as with exercise bars that may be used with lat pull-down or other similar exercises where two pull handles are used at the same time in each of the user's hands.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a pull handle that addresses the above described issues such as relieving unnatural stress on the user's joints when performing exercises. There is also a need for a pull handle that relieves or mitigates the discomfort caused by existing pull handles during the performance of certain exercises. There is also a need for different methods of exercise that may be performed with one or more pull handles that address these issues.